If McMahon, who was hospitalized overnight, is unable to return next week, or anytime soon, the cost of the most meaningful Bears' victory since their 1963 championship will have to be weighed accordingly.

For the moment, it proved so much to the rest of the National Football League, to Bear fans and to the Bears themselves that cigars were in order, if not champagne.

A 7-3 record, their best start since 1963, puts them 3½ games up in the NFC Central Division with six to play. It also puts them on the same level as the 7-3 Raiders.

"I'm extremely happy for our football team and the organization. This elevates our confidence level. But it could be very expensive," said Ditka, who coincidentally climbed over the .500 mark in coaching for the first time at 18-17.

Winning without McMahon and Hampton for the second half may have provided even more confidence, but the Bears would just as soon not find out how much.

The Bears did more than beat the Raiders. They beat a 20-year rap. They beat the odds. They beat citywide skepticism and nationwide apathy.

They did more than beat the Raiders; they beat them up. For every McMahon, the Bears took two opposing quarterbacks with them.

Linebacker Otis Wilson knocked out starter Marc Wilson and replacement David Humm, both in the first half, forcing Marc Wilson to finish the game with a bandaged right thumb. Regular Jim Plunkett is ineligible to return from injured reserve until next week.

For the Bears, Steve Fuller played all but the first play of the second half at quarterback and guided two scoreless but time-consuming drives to preserve the victory. He completed 4-of-5 passes, his first passes since 1982.

"I didn't want to make a big mistake," Fuller said. "I was anxious and nervous. The team was very good, very supportive, and Walter [Payton] and Matt Suhey and Calvin Thomas all ran real hard. We're all hopeful Jim will be all right. Our prayers are with him."

Marc Wilson's thumb was bruised when he hit the top of defensive Steve McMichael's helmet and threw an interception to cornerback Frazier. It set up the second of two touchdown runs by Payton in the game's first 18 minutes.

That enabled the Bears to unleash the fury of the league's No. 1 defense. Coordinator Buddy Ryan signaled "46 blitz" time after time and the Bears responded with nine sacks, 4½ by end Richard Dent.

With 4:28 left, the Raiders trailed 14-6 and moved to the Bear 16, the closest they got to the end zone all day. Wilson had plenty of time to get either the ball or his body away, but Dent stripped him of the ball and recovered the fumble.

"The defense was unbelievable. The offense did well enough as well," said Payton, who gained 111 yards in 27 carries, but lost his league rushing lead to Eric Dickerson of the Rams, the Bears' next opponent.

In addition to the nine sacks, the defense forced four fumbles, recovered two and grabbed three interceptions, two by safety Gary Fencik. Nine of the Raiders' 13 possessions resulted in drives of no more than 18 yards.

The Raiders' first of two field goals was set up only after Bears' middle linebacker Mike Singletary was penalized for roughing Wilson in front of the Raider bench. McMichael had been penalized earlier for roughing.

Singletary thought his call was cheap, and it almost resulted in a brawl.

"One guy grabbed me and that was the wrong thing to do," said Singletary. "I've seen them play, and some things they do are outrageously flagrant."

There were only five penalties in the game between the second [Raiders] and third [Bears] most penalized teams in football. The Bears had four of the penalties.

Ditka was happy that no one got kicked out.

"They didn't get down in the gutter, and we didn't have to get down there to get them out," said Hampton, who suffered a hyperextended left elbow when Dent fell on him. "It was our cleanest game all year."

"We're the cleanest team in pro football," said Singletary. "The way we play, it's kind of tough to tell."

Tough is the way the Bears played. "Very tough," said Ditka. "Not very pretty. Tough."

When the Raiders closed to 14-6 on the second of Chris Bahr's field goals with 9:03 left in the third quarter, momentum appeared to be shifting. But the Bear offense got tough, controlling the ball for 14 minutes and 2 seconds of the next 16:43 against a Raider defense missing injured linebacker Matt Millen.

There was only 7:26 left when the Raiders got the ball again.

For the third week in a row, the Bear defense was able to work with an early two-touchdown lead, heaven for the "46" that opponents simply cannot block, "especially an AFC team not used to playing us," said linebacker Al Harris.

Ryan puts six men on the line, including linebackers Wilson and Harris over the tight end. Against Tampa Bay, Minnesota and the Raiders the last three weeks, the Bears have recorded 26 of their 17 sacks.

Ryan said the game plan against the Raiders was to start out with the "46 blitz." Otis Wilson's first sack led to a punt that the Bears followed up with a 50-yard pass from McMahon to receiver Willie Gault. It set up Payton's first touchdown and came against cornerback Lester Hayes.

"We could have gone after No. 37 [Hayes] more," said Ditka.

The Bears are the only team in the league to have scored in the first quarter of every game. Seven of their nine sacks Sunday came after it was 14-0. Four came in the game's final five minutes.

Otis Wilson usually rushed in the 46 blitz, forcing the Raiders to keep tailback Marcus Allen in to block.

The Raiders are a big-play team with Allen and tight end Todd Christensen playing leading roles while receiver Cliff Branch is hurt.

Allen ran for only 42 yards and caught all four of his passes in the first half, three before it was 14-0. Christensen caught five passes, including a 38-yarder from Allen for the Raiders' longest gain of the day.

Payton's first touchdown came on an 18-yard run off left tackle Jimbo Covert after the Raiders had jumped offside.

"Jim gave a great cadence. He can draw teams offside," said center Jay Hilgenberg.

Payton's second touchdown came on an 8-yard sweep behind Covert on third and 7. The Raiders had taken themselves out of the play by shifting their defense.

After that, the Bears didn't get closer than the Los Angeles 35 until they took over on downs at the Raider 20 with 1:43 left and Bob Thomas kicked a 29-yard field goal.